Honeyed pears

6 pears
honey
butter
ground ginger
a 2cm knob of fresh ginger, finely grated
juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons additional honey
200ml water
2 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon cornflour
4 tablespoons castor sugar

Peel the pears, cut in half lengthwise and remove the core using a teaspoon or melon baller.

Place flat side up in an ovenproof dish and in each core hole place a teaspoon of honey, a small knob of butter and sprinkle with a little ground ginger.

Heat the water, lemon juice, grated ginger and the second measure of honey and stir until well combined then pour into the dish of pears. Avoid pouring the liquid over the pears at this stage. Bake at 170C, basting occasionally after 10 minutes, till cooked but firm. Remove from oven and turn the temperature down to 100C.

Whisk the egg whites until they form peaks. Whisk in the cornflour and castor sugar.  Spoon or pipe the meringue mixture into the middle of each pear half. Return to the centre of the oven to set. Serve hot with some of the syrup and with lightly whipped cream.